


siempre hace frio

by aristotle



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe: Canon Divergence, Basically, Graphic Violence, M/M, Mexican Jesse McCree, PTSD, Recovery, dia de los muertos, jesse and mccree play gay chicken in mexico, mlm author, only a bit sometimes in flashbacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-20 11:03:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12431439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aristotle/pseuds/aristotle
Summary: Genji wasn’t big on social events since his ‘death.’ He preferred to either stay inside or in the shadows, and from what he had been told about the Day of the Dead, a festival to that caliber was just about the complete opposite of that. But he also knew that he couldn’t just say no to Reyes. He had become… important to him. Maybe even something on par to family.Or better than family, considering how well that connection had treated him.





	1. colita de rana

**Author's Note:**

> hello! dia de muertos is coming up, and i've had a lot of thoughts about genji and jesse going to a dia de muertos festival and y'know. i've also spent the past few weeks dealing with what i recently found out is some good ol' ptsd so i may have projected a bit here
> 
> also i've been listening to a lot of selena lately

Genji had become quite used to artificial light as of late.

Not by force, of course. Rehabilitation took some time, and even after that, he found himself much more at ease in the familiarity of the Blackwatch hallways than he did outside or in public. These days the only exposure to natural light he got were via the impromptu sparring lessons he had with Reyes on the roof.

So forgive him if he was a bit opposed to the idea at first.

“No.”

“Ah, come on, Genji. It could be fun.”

“I doubt that very much.”

McCree rolled his eyes, fiddling with the wires in Genji’s shoulder as they spoke. Although he wasn’t technically part of Genji’s engineering team, he was the only person that he trusted to do checkups. Angela didn’t have much of a choice but to give the agent a crash course on the inner workings of his prosthetics and how to do basic tune ups and adjustments.

Besides, Genji enjoyed his company much more than that of the doctors.

“I’m just saying, Genj. Don’t you think it’d be nice to get out of here for a while? Y’know, see some sights?”

“We have windows.”

Jesse sighed, his hands, at the moment, moving much more delicately than his mouth.

“Well, I think it’d do you good. God knows you need some sunrays after being cooped up in this building for so long. You look like a damn ghost.”

“I am a ghost.”

He chuckled at that, tightening the metal plate against his back and wiping this hands on the front of his oil-stained tank top. A tear at the collar strained as he pulled the edge of it to use as a makeshift rag to wipe the plate clean of the lubricants left by McCree’s hands.

“Well then you’ll fit right in.”

Genji furrowed his brows, eliciting a slightly heftier chuckle from Jesse.

“Just think about it, yeah? ‘sides, Reyes said we’d be staying at his grandparents’ house. Aren’t you just a little curious about what kind of family raised _that?_ ”

He bit his lip behind the metal plate that hid his lower face.

“Alright. I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you.”

McCree left without another word, tipping his hat and offering a smile before he made his way into the busy hallway just outside. Genji found himself alone again, among his own thoughts, his own choices to make. It was October now. October 20th, to be specific, and Reyes had extended an unexpected hand to him and McCree in the coming days.

He had asked them to go with him to Mexico for the Day of the Dead.

Blackwatch wasn’t very busy anymore; something of a year of peace had been going on, meaning most of their workload was basic reconnaissance and paperwork. Genji could tell that it was making Gabriel a little stir crazy; he was more irritable, more impulsive when they sparred. Him and McCree spent more time talking in Spanish, which he had come to learn was reserved for when they were either fighting or talking shit about Morrison.

They hadn’t fought in a while, to say the least.

Genji wasn’t big on social events since his ‘death.’ He preferred to either stay inside or in the shadows, and from what he had been told about the Day of the Dead, a festival to that caliber was just about the complete opposite of that. But he also knew that he couldn’t just say _no_ to Reyes _._ He had become… important to him. Maybe even something on par to family.

Or better than family, considering how well that connection had treated him.

Regardless, this was a big step. Maybe bigger than Genji was willing to take at this point in his recovery. He stared at the wall of the med bay room, the sounds of computers and a busy staff occupying the empty space around him. His metal hand lifted and dragged itself across the scarred expanse of what was left of his chest.

He had been torn, shattered, pulled to pieces. He was the remains of a man; the ghost of Genji Shimada. The proposal had almost made him laugh. Was it supposed to be humorous, he almost asked. Taking him, the undead ninja  to a Day of the Dead festival; would he simply be there to be mourned? Was that the intention? To grieve for his past life? To pity what he’s become? It was a ridiculous idea. It was almost offensive. He couldn’t comprehend a single reason he’d find any such experience enjoyable, and furrowed his brows at the mere thought that this was Reyes’ plan all along.

The slightest glow of a red aura surged from his eyes, angry and confused as he contemplated the ulterior motives behind the request. Was Jesse in on it? Had they both conspired to take Genji on some sort of feel-good trip for them to share a jerk-off session to his misery? For them to feel better about the inane procedures they had put his body through?

His metal hand had clenched around his bicep and torn into his arm before he’d realized it, breaking skin and letting out the slightest trail of blood when Gabriel walked in.

“Jesus, Shimada. Stop that.”

He pulled a small, metal tin out from the inside of one of the room’s cabinets, laying the contents out neatly on his blanket. It was filled with a variety of basic medical supplies; various types of bandaging, disinfectant, and what looked to be some generic condoms.

Genji did not waver, his prosthetic hand digging harder into the skin when Reyes got close enough to grab his wrist.

“Stop it.”

“No.”

“Genji.”

“Why did you invite me to Mexico?”

“What?”

“Is it because I’m like this? Was this some sort of ploy for you to feel better about yourself? I have no need for your charity, Commander, and surely no desire for pity. I can assure you I am fully capable of recovering on my own.”

“Christ, Shimada, no. As much as I’m grateful to have you here, bringing you to see my grandma sure as hell isn’t going to change the fact that I still find this little ‘project’ they seem to treat you as less slimy. Besides, that wouldn’t even…”

He sighed, then frowned.

”... That’s not even what the Day of the Dead _is,_ kid. Now stop stabbing yourself before you get scars on your scars and let me patch you up. You’re bleeding on good sheets.”

”They can wash them.”

”Alright, then stop because it’s gross.”

Genji clenched his jaw and released his grip, Gabriel’s hand gently moving his arm to his side as the bed began to sink with the sudden weight of the larger man next to him. Although his hands were calloused and much bigger than his own, his touch was gentle as he began to press a disinfectant wipe across the wound.

“You need to stop doing this, kid. Like your shithead brother didn’t leave you with enough scars.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine, Genji.”

His first name felt unnatural on Gabriel’s tongue, he thought absently.

“Just... find more productive ways to blow off some steam. Medical supplies don’t grow on trees. I’m sure if they could Angela would’ve found a way by now.”

“Not about that. About the...”

”The...?”

“... I don’t trust very easy. And normally people like Blackwatch even less.”

“This is a great apology.” He chuckled, holding Genji’s bicep as he cleaned the wound.

“Shut up. Let me finish.”

Reyes smiled, knowing there was no real venom behind the statement.

“I trust you. And… McCree too, I suppose. I don’t know if I should, but I do. But I still don’t understand why you invited me. Jesse is Mexican, but I don’t celebrate the holiday. I don’t even speak Spanish all that well.”

Reyes jaw clenched for a moment. Genji knew it meant he was thinking, trying out words in his head; it was a look usually reserved for diplomats and ambassadors. Genji briefly wondered if those he spoke too felt half as anxious as he did now.

“Honestly, Shimada? I thought you could use some time away from this place. God knows I could.”

He processed the words for a moment, silently watching his Commander’s hands finish covering the wound. Before he could respond, Reyes began to rub the wound and sing.

_“Sana, sana, colita de rana, si no sana hoy, sanará mañana.”_

Genji couldn’t help but laugh, the prospect of a grown man using a superstitious nursery rhyme to heal another grown man’s self-inflicted wound. It was not the first, nor would it be the last time Reyes used this method to cheer him up.

“I despise that song.”

“I know. But it’ll never heal otherwise.”

Reyes smiled as he began to put the tin away, neatly organizing the contents before moving to put it back in it’s designated cabinet.

“I don’t think I’m ready for a festival yet.”

He was quiet as he put the tin back, running a hand through his hair as he turned to Genji. It had gotten longer than he’d ever seen it, he thought. It meant he was either tired of being on base or had just done it solely to spite Morrison. The odds were about 50/50.

“Well, Genji, I won’t force you to come to Mexico. But I’d like you to, and I know Jesse would too. And you don’t _have_ to go to the festival. I just thought you could use a vacation. Hang out with my grandparents. Go visit the markets. _Relax._ You’ve earned it.”

He bit his lip and thought for a moment, meeting Gabriel’s eyes. There were bags under them, pronounced and dark. Gabriel Reyes needed a vacation.

And god dammit, so did he.

“Fine.”

Gabriel smiled at that, clapping his hands together.

“That’s what I like to hear. We’re leaving in a week. If you have any business left on the base, get it done as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And Genji?”

“Yes?”

“Loosen up a little, yeah? It’s a _vacation._ You can turn it off for a few days.”

Genji let out a breath.

“Okay.”

The next week went by fairly quickly; he spent most of the time wandering the halls, trailing behind Jesse while he finished his duties and packed, Fareeha always close by to complain about the _unfairness_ of the entire ordeal.

“This isn’t fair. Why didn’t Reyes invite _me?_ ”

“He did. Your mom said no.”

“Well, what if I just—”

“Tried that.”

”But did you—“

”Tried that too.”

”Did you remember to—“

”Mhm.”

”And she didn’t—“

”Nope.”

She crossed her arms at that.

“Ugh.”

“If I could get you past customs in my suitcase, I would, little girl.”

Fareeha sighed, leaning on Jesse’s shoulder in defeat as he packed.

”Bring me something back.” she said quietly, her cheek slumped against the cowboy’s arm.

”Sure. I’ll find the biggest, ugliest scorpion I can get my hands on.”

Fareeha punched him in the arm.

Genji smiled as he watched the exchange, wondering quietly if this is what it was like to have a sibling you cared for.

He knew they weren’t related, of course, but he still wondered. Every time they spoke, quipped, bickered in the cafeteria over meaningless topics, he wondered what it would be like to lead a normal childhood.

For a brief moment, he thinks back to Hanamura; he keeps a lookout for adults coming but while Hanzo shakes the vending machine in the specific fashion that always freed two cherry drinks, then they’d go to the other machine for sour candies. They’d climb the drainpipe of the arcade and share their sweets on the roof, always under the cover of sunset.

Before he can savor the moment, the scene shifts to the altar where he died. Hanzo advances, limping towards Genji.

Always, he thinks as Hanzo raises his blade, under the cover of sunset.

”Genji?”

He jumps slightly, to which Fareeha sits up and McCree scoots to his side.

”You alright?”

”Yes... yes, of course. Why do you ask?”

Him and Fareeha share a look. Fareeha speaks this time.

”You’re crying, Genji.”

”What?”

Genji brings his hand up to his face; sure enough, there are salty tears sliding down the artificial slant of his jawline.

”Ah... that’s... it’s alright, lots of medication. Side effects, mood swings.”

Neither of them seem convinced. Genji doesn’t blame them. But they seem to pick up on his discomfort, and promptly change the subject.

The two fire off at each other easily, Genji now sitting quietly with his arm hooked around Jesse’s. It’s not an unusual position for them; they’re not together, he doesn’t think. They hadn’t even kissed yet, but Jesse made such comforts easy. He was open, even when Genji wasn’t, and his lingering touches had frustrated Genji enough that he now simply latched himself onto the man whenever they were alone.

On some level, he knew Gabriel wouldn’t care. He’s about ninety percent sure him and Jack had something at some point.

But, to that degree, things ending badly between them would not exactly be a point in their favor.

”Stop thinking so much, Genji.”

Genji smiled. “Would you prefer I just spoke whatever came to my mind, like you and Fareeha?”

Fareeha let out a sarcastic laugh.

”Uh, yeah.”

An hour passed, Genji now firmly wrapped in Jesse’s hoodie as the cold air of the night seeped into the building. He said he ran warm, and considering he was once again stripped down to a tank top and not shivering in the slightest, Genji secretly wondered if he truly did.

”Pass me that tank top, kid.”

“Another one? Are you incapable of wearing sleeves or something?”

“Hey now, you know I don’t have a concealed carry license for _these_ guns.” He flexed his bicep for effect, eliciting an eye roll from Fareeha. Genji laughed, lightly to himself against McCree’s shoulder.

“And how about Genji here? I know he’s more partial to a blade, but he likes a gun show every now and then.” Jesse smirked, flexing a little harder.

Fareeha scrunched her face.

”Yeah, that’s enough of you for today. Wake me up if you take off early.”

”Sleep tight, little girl. I’ll make sure you’re under...” he flexed again for effect. “... my constant protection.”

She threw McCree’s tank top at him as she left, Jesse laughing as the door closed behind her.

“Kids.”

“She’s not that much younger than me, you know.”

“You’re a kid too.”

“I don’t know many kids made of metal.”

“Clearly you never watched Astro Boy.”

“What?”

“Never mind. Are you packed yet?”

Genji shrugged. He didn’t really have much to pack anymore. Angela had already given Reyes all the necessary equipment that him and Jesse needed in case of any issues he had, and clothes seemed unnecessary with the amount of armor he was in most of the time. His wardrobe was mostly just Jesse and Gabe’s old jackets. 

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t have anything to pack.”

“Nothing? No… no shirts?” He said, gaze lowering to where his chest would normally be exposed.

Genji smirked.

“No shirts.”

”Are you just gonna... walk around Mexico with your boob out?”

Genji barked a laugh.

”I have a chest plate.”

”Really? How come I’ve never seen it?”

”It’s uncomfortable. Also much more entertaining to watch you try and shield my poor, exposed breast during combat.”

Jesse frowns. “Uh-huh. One day you won’t have me there to protect you’re breast, y’know. Then what?”

”I’ll put on my chest plate.”

Jesse scoffed, shaking his head.

”Wouldn’t even mourn me?”

”Are you suddenly dead in this scenario?” Genji said, a laugh bubbling under his voice.

”I could be!”

”Fine, fine. I’ll wait a respectable amount of time, mourn your loss, then I’ll put on the chest plate.”

He have a quick nod. “That’s more like it.”

Reyes opened the door very suddenly, eyes raking over the two. He quickly realized this was quite a compromising position they were in, practically cuddling on his bed as they packed.

“Jesse? Shimada? What the hell is going on here?”

Jesse pulled away almost immediately, Genji’s eyes widening as he scooted away. His heart pounded, suddenly sure the commander would cancel the trip and reprimand them for fraternization.

“B-Boss,” Jesse stuttered out, pulling a shirt from his pile on as quickly as he could. “I was just… we were just, just—”

Gabriel suddenly held up a hand. Jesse stopped, and they both stood in silence as they watched him slowly burst into a hearty laughter.

“I’m just fucking with you. I don’t give a shit. Wheels up in the morning. Have everything in the hangar by eight.”

He dodged the barrage of crumpled clothes being thrown at him, grinning ear to ear as he left the room.


	2. guadalupe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for the positive feedback on chapter one and sorry for the delay! it was a hectic dia de los muertos at the aristotle house because we went to mexico for dia de los angelitos this year!
> 
> warning for a somewhat-graphic description of genji and hanzo’s battle in this chapter!

Aside from a single moment where McCree spilled whiskey on himself in a futile attempt to impress Genji, the flight was long and uneventful. From the airport, it was a two-hour drive which mostly consisted of Genji sleeping on Jesse in several, equally uncomfortable positions, and Reyes pointing out different locations and landmarks from his childhood.

“You see that little shop with the tiger on it? Best raspados in town.”

“What are raspados?” Genji asked quietly, his legs resting across Jesse’s lap in the back seat.

Jesse shrugged in response.

The car pulled to an abrupt halt as Gabriel glanced over his shoulder with a rather incredulous look on his face.

“Well now, that’s just fucking tragic.”

Which was how Genji Shimada, the recently deceased heir to the Shimada clan, found himself sitting on the patio outside Gabriel Reyes favorite little shop with a cherry flavored raspado in hand and, for the first time in a while, enjoying himself, as well as the sensation of the fresh air around him.

Gabriel put a hand on his shoulder and stood up, throwing away his now empty Styrofoam cup as he turned back towards the shop.

“We’re not far from home now, so I’m gonna head back in and grab some to-go for my abuelos. Finish up.”

Genji nodded back as Jesse very unceremoniously dropped down onto the patio next to him, tilting the Styrofoam cup towards Genji. It was a bright, lime-green, and accompanied with a rather smug look.

“Green.” He said it with a smirk, as if that was supposed to mean something to him.

“That’s correct.”

“Like your hair!”

Genji choked on his raspado, suddenly acutely aware of what McCree now knew.

”I don’t– I have no idea what you’re talking about—“

“Lena told me.”

” _Dammit_.” Genji cursed, thinking to himself the best course of retaliation.

”You know,” McCree suddenly interrupted. “I have some pictures of a _very_  goth Lena from grade school sitting around somewhere on my datapad.”

That raised several questions, but Genji couldn’t help but smile at the insinuation. “I would’ve never pegged you as a double agent.”

”Trust me, darling. I’m usually much more loyal. But...” he rubbed his fingers against the edge of his styrofoam cup. “... Sometimes making a mess is more fun.”

“You’d invoke the wrath of _Lena_ _Oxton_ for me?”

McCree smiled and met his eyes. “Sweetheart, if she manages to find something on me, I’d be just as surprised as she would.”

The statement broke Genji’s train of thought, even if just for a moment.

In all the time the two spent together, they didn’t talk about their pasts much. Not that Jesse needed to look far to find information on Genji; his entire life seemed to have been meticulously documented by Blackwatch agents, as he had unfortunately found out just after arriving. But there wasn’t much he knew about the cowboy. His Blackwatch file was brief; only mentioning that he had chosen Blackwatch over prison after a gang bust, and that he had no known family outside of that. Sure, they’d exchange childhood stories occasionally, but even these seemed like they never went farther back than his time with the Deadlock Gang. Genji had done his own digging, but it never seemed to amount to much. He’d started to wonder whether or not Jesse McCree was even a real name.

But he also knew that if he had the option to separate his past life from his current one, he’d take it in a heartbeat.

So they decided to stick to what they know. Agent McCree and Agent Shimada.

“Something wrong?” Jesse tilted his head and pulled his hat off onto his lap.

“No. Just thinking.”

“Thought I told you to stop that.”

“Old habits die hard.” Genji said, smiling. “Your hair looks ridiculous.”

“Excuse me?”

Reyes lightly kicked at the small of McCree’s back, two raspados in hand.

“Alright, load up. We’ve got two raspados, seven minutes home, and about five minutes before Mexico makes a fine slush out of them.”

In the car, Genji had insisted on spending the remaining time fixing McCree’s hair, which had been neatly tucked into a bun by the time they reached the house.

Upon arrival, Genji’s first note was that it looked very small. It was half brick, and what looked to be half clay, though he couldn’t be sure solely from the exterior. There were potted plants framing the main entrance; mostly cacti and aloe plants, as well as two bushes of some sort of red flowers underneath the windows. Chuparosa, maybe. He thinks he remembers Gabriel telling him about them before. Hummingbird bushes, Jesse said.

Reyes was the first one off the car, inviting the other two to join him inside to say hello before they brought any luggage down. They followed him down the gravel path leading up to the house, hanging a few feet behind him as they walked.

Jesse moved to put his hat on, only to stop with a quiet ‘ _Ow!_ ’

“I can’t put my hat on with this bun!”

“Oh no.” Genji spoke flatly. “What a tragedy.”

McCree playfully shoved him as they approached the door.

“A-ma!” Gabriel called through a screen window.

“Ya voy!” A voice came from inside the house, distinctly an older woman. There was some fiddling behind the door before it opened to reveal a short, chubby woman in a floral blouse, yoga pants, and slippers.

“Ay, Gabriel!” She spoke with a smile in her voice as she embraced the taller man, pulling him down to her height as he sank down to return the hug.

“Hola, a-ma.” Gabriel was smiling too, wider than either of the two agents had ever really seen in the confines of the Blackwatch base.

As they pulled back, the woman—Gabriel’s abuela—turned her attention to them, extending her hand and looking back to her grandson.

“Y estos?”

“Oh, right.” Gabriel chuckled to himself before motioning to the two.

“This is Genji.” He put a hand on the agent’s shoulder, clasped down with the usual force that made Genji feel as though he’d been hammered slightly into the ground. “Él es uno de mis agentes de Japón. No habla mucho español.”

Genji flushed at the sentence, understanding enough to pick up on what he said: _“He_ _doesn’t speak much Spanish.”_

Though he’d learned a good amount working with Jesse and Gabe for so long, he was only been able to pick up words here and there, and even then, he wasn’t able to converse as much as he was able to understand.

She smiled and extended her hand as Gabe introduced her. “Genji, this is my abuela Guadalupe. She doesn’t speak much English, so me and Jesse are gonna translate for you.”

Genji nodded and shook her hand. “Mucho gusto, Guadalupe.” It was just about the extent of what he could say, but he wanted them to know he’d be making the attempt.

She raised her eyebrows at him, then at Gabriel before shaking her hand. “Igualmente, Genji.”

McCree extended a hand next.

“Buen día, señora. Me llamo Jesse, pero tú puedes llamarme McCree.”

“Qué curioso. ¿Eres de México también, pues?”*

“Los Estados, pero muchos de mis amigos eran mexicanos. Mis padres también.”

She nodded, smiling as she took his hand in both of hers.

Genji’s eyes picked up at that last statement. _“My parents too._ ” It was like a chip in the armor; the first time he had ever really heard McCree so much as mention anything about his parents in casual conversation. It raised a million questions, none of which he felt he could ask anytime soon.

He’d have to get him alone at some point.

“Well,” Gabe began, motioning back to the truck. “We should start taking everything in. Jesse, help Genji get everything down. I’ll go with my abuela and start setting up the pullout.”

“That for us?” McCree asked with a tilt to his head.

“Please; you’re guests. You guys…”

Gabriel sighed and rubbed his beard for a second.

“… You guys are sleeping in my room.”

The resulting grin on McCree’s face made Reyes groan in disgust as he disappeared into the house.

The initial move in was probably the longest part of the trip, when Genji thought back on it. Being in new places was always uncomfortable for him, so he spent much of the time ghosting behind McCree and making note of every possible entrance and exit point in the house. After settling themselves in and changing into more comfortable clothes, they were relieved to the living room while Gabe and his grandmother made dinner.

Genji broke the silence that had settled between them after some time.

“I didn’t know your parents were from Mexico.”

“Really? Where’d you think I learned Spanish?”

“I don’t know. I assumed you had picked it up in Deadlock.”

Jesse shrugged.

“Most of it, I guess. I was five when my parents died, so I’d gotten pretty good at talking by then, if I do say so myself.”

”As opposed to the millions of other, nonverbal five year olds.”

”Exactly.”

Genji smiled, letting himself lean back against McCree’s shoulder again.

“Is that how you ended up in Deadlock?”

McCree shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Sorry.” Genji spoke softly. “I won’t pry.”

“It’s fine.” He said it with a shrug, one arm wrapping around Genji’s shoulders. “Just never really got close enough to anyone to tell them much.”

“Am I the exception?”

McCree smiled, suddenly leaning back into the couch and crossing his legs.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

Genji leaned into him and returned the smile. “Fair enough.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Have I unlocked the secret Shimada backstory yet?”

He rolled his eyes. “I think Blackwatch dug that up for you.”

Jesse leaned forward. “Come on, you know what I mean. The files only gave us the low down. I don’t give a shit about the facts, I want the shit you know. Tell it your own way.”

“Mm. Poetic.”

“Shut up.”

Genji laughed, settling into a comfortable position on the couch. At some point, his hand absentmindedly snaking into McCree’s shirt to rub his chest.

“So?” Jesse said a few minutes later, meeting his eyes and brushing a hand through Genji’s hair.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

He laughed.

“Fair enough.”

After a few more minutes of feeling up McCree, Genji went to check on the two in the kitchen to offer help with dinner.

Instead, he found the two quietly cooking, side by side, swaying to music that had been playing over a small radio on top of the fridge. There were no words being exchanged, no looks being shared, just the simple movement of the two enjoying each other’s company, swaying together as they cooked. Even from behind, Gabriel looked more at ease than Genji had ever remembered seeing him.

He couldn’t bring himself to interrupt, and instead watched silently for a moment, listening to the lyrics of the music playing behind them.

_… y al verte solo,_

_como hoy me siento…_

_siempre hace frio._

Genji was suddenly back in Hanamura again. He was jumping up and down, trying his best to see the ramen Hanzo was pouring into his bowl. They’d eat it in the garden, just outside their house, telling each other stories or just eating in silence.

He was in the garden again, watching the cherry blossoms, when he heard his brother behind him.

”I know, I know. I’ll be inside in a moment—“

Genji gasped, looking down at the blade sticking out of his abdomen. His hands trembling as he framed his hands around the wound. He turned, slowly, meeting Hanzo’s gaze, not recognizing the eyes staring back at him.

Hanzo pulled the blade out, and Genji fell to his knees.

”Genji!”

He looked up, suddenly processing his surroundings. Reyes is crouched next to him, arm around his shoulder. His abuela is leaning over, hands on her knees. Jesse is beside him

Genji stutters out a sentence.

”Perdon... señora. Siento... mal.”

And then he slumped into Reyes’ arms.

When he finally woke up, it was dark out, and he found himself in an unfamiliar bed. The walls around him were decorated with posters of various soccer teams and rock band. After spotting a photo of a handsome, young, Mexican man in a cap and gown, he quickly realized he had been resting in the childhood bedroom of Gabriel Reyes.

He was about to get up when McCree walked in. Genji stilled, reasoning he’d rather pretend to be asleep than talk about what happened.

Genji watched as Jesse slipped out of his shirt, then his undershirt, the contours of his back coming into view, littered with the smallest scars that stood out against his otherwise brown skin. His shoulders were wide, shifting as he moved. His gaze lingered over his shoulder, a worried sigh leaving his lips when he spotted the sleeping ninja. Genji quickly closed his eyes.

Jesse leaned down, his hand moving to press against Genji’s forehead. He was checking for a fever; one of the signs that he had an infection. But he knew it was not an infection plaguing his mind.

An infection would’ve been much preferable.

McCree huffed, pulling his pants off and unceremoniously throwing them on the floor before moving under the covers. He heard him fiddling with something, frustrated at his own fingers when Genji finally opened his eyes again.

”I can take it out.”

McCree looked slightly surprised, quickly correcting himself and running a hand through Genji’s hair. “Go back to sleep, darling.”

”Mm.”

Genji propped himself up on his elbow while he ran his hands through Jesse’s hair, one hand moving to undo the bun while the other rested against the soft layer of hair that covered his chest. His heartbeat was a low hum against Genji’s fingertips; soft and warm as the bun came undone and released his hair down to his shoulders. He idly ran his fingers through the length of it a few times, quiet as he made sure no tangles remained.

“There. Now you can go back to wearing that hideous hat tomorrow.”

Jesse smiled, softly putting a hand on Genji’s side.

”So do you wanna.... talk about—“

”No.”

”Okay. All good.”

McCree quieted down, rubbing up and down Genji’s side as he studied his face.

“What?” Genji said after a few minutes, suddenly hot under his gaze, just before McCree moved a hand to cup his jaw. There was silence in the room, quietly hanging in the air between them as they simply stared at one another through the darkness between them, only illuminated by the soft glow of the moonlight through the curtains.

“I’m glad you’re here.” Jesse said, softer than he usually did, almost in a whisper as he rubbed his thumb against Genji’s heavily scarred cheekbone.

He placed his own hand over the one against his jaw, feeling the warmth that radiated off of McCree’s skin as his smile faltered into what seemed to be a worried expression. Genji took this as his cue, pressing his forehead into McCree’s and letting his hand trail down the valley between his pectorals, gliding over the smooth expanse of his stomach. Eventually his hand settled against his hip as his other hand rested between them. Jesse’s eyes were on his lips, and Genji decided he’d do whatever it took to assure that he was always the cause for the look of desire currently spread across his face. He began moving in, stopping just before their lips met.

Jesse looked confused, just for a moment before Genji spoke.

“I’ve decided.”

McCree raised his eyebrows, suddenly remembering their earlier conversation. “… and?”

Genji leaned in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still don't know what the update schedule will be for this i apologize! it'll probably mostly be spontaneous and im still not too sure how long this'll be exactly but i suppose we'll find out soon enough!
> 
> as for the spanish: there's not gonna be too much spanish in the fic but if there is any it'll be basic spanish. the specific dialect that gabriel's mother and him speak is northern mexican spanish, and mccree's is closer to chicano spanish (so basically spanish with a lot of english littered in)
> 
> gabriel's abuelos are named guadalupe and martín, and he has other family that will be making appearances as time goes on
> 
> * - in northern Mexico, "Que curioso" means both "How curious" and "How cute" depending on the context. the second meaning is being used here.


End file.
